Tag Archives: running

A Nice Weekend – and Pics from the Last One

Work has been kind of insane this past week, so I never got a chance to post the pictures from Rekha’s birthday and our trip out there for it to Santa Monica.  That situation is finally going to be remedied!  But before that, I have to admit that this weekend….was highly unproductive.  But it was lovely nonetheless.  Yesterday, I spent 8 hours sitting on the couch watching the Twin Peaks Marathon of Twin Peaks Season 1 – god DAMN that show is great.  I kept hoping a surprise new teaser would be revealed, but alas, that Cooper one from Friday is the newest.  But they did iterate through all the trailers thus far released, including the Deputy Hawk one, the Gordon Cole eating a donut one, the eerie Angelo Badalamenti one….so great.  I’m bracing for what Season 3 will actually be – and hoping my expectations can be tempered to just go along for the ride.  With David Lynch, you really have to adjust accordingly.  And 18 HOURS of David Lynch…even with Mark Frost there with him…could be nuts.    I was telling Larry that I kind of wonder if there will be a Drew Barrymore-in-Scream move made…in that one of the major stars from the original series gets killed off.  Maybe someone like Audrey or Shelly?  Eh, just chill.

I instagrammed this pic of my Twin Peaks books during the Season 1 Marathon.

Anyway, last night we went out to Cafe Beaujolais in Eagle Rock, our favorite local French restaurant with the attractive waiters who wear black t-shirts.  It’s wonderful.  Had plenty of wine and man, it just made for a wonderful Saturday night.  Get to feeling good, is all I’m saying.

This morning, we finally made it back out to Griffith Park to go running, and that was my first time out for a run in a few weeks.  Accordingly, only got in about 5.3 miles.  Happily, Larry’s back is feeling good again and he can handle the runs too.  Then we watched The Force Awakens and that movie is still the best.  Now it’s laundry and listening to Mark Hamill on the Nerdist podcast with Chris Hardwick.  Today is chill as fuck and I love it.

Okay, enough rambling – here are pictures!

Jan 7, 2017 – Rekha’s Birthday in Santa Monica

Running a 10k Along Hollywood Blvd

Today we got up before the crack of dawn in order to go to the Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood as we had signed up for a 10k race.  It was kind of brutal to get up that early knowing it was to go running, but we were both troopers, getting up fairly easily, then off to the Universal City Metro station to take the Red Line one stop south.

It was honestly not a bad run in the slightest.  6.4 miles or so isn’t a light run, but the inclines were modest and it’s a very straight out-and-back course.   Larry & I even managed to see each other while he was heading back in and I was still running out.  The cool part of the run is that it is Hollywood Boulevard and you’re running past a whole lot of cool shit.  The 10k also goes really far out, so we were in Los Feliz before turning around.  Almost felt like we could have just ran home to our old Silver Lake place at that point!

hardrockrun_fitbitstatsAnd here are the results for both Larry and me:

hardrockrun_hobieresults hardrockrun_larryresultsI kind of ended up right in the middle of the overall 10k pack, while certainly at the back half of the men who ran the 10k.  Still pretty damn happy with how I felt while running it.  Anyway, pictures below are from when we arrived and before the race.  I wasn’t feeling like taking any pictures during the run, that’s for sure.  🙂

Nov 5, 2016 – Hard Rock Cafe 10k in Hollywood

Weekend Update

Larry & I got our first experience with the latest incarnation of Virtual Reality (VR) through Brian, as he finally got his HTC Vive VR kit.  We went over to his place, along with Nicki and Kevin, and after a great lunch at Aroma Cafe, got to finally experience what is truly only the beginning with how things might go in terms of immersion.

tweedievrYou do have to wear that contraption on your head and hold those controllers in each hand, but seriously, once you turn the system on it is utterly mind-blowing what happens to your sense of reality.  You’re really feeling like you’re there – I mean, I get it, you’re basically shoving two screens right up against your face, but it’s fucking amazing.  We got to play a few different games, with one especially cool as you’re in this platform in some space city and flying drones come at you.  The two controllers in your hand become laser pistols, seriously, and you have to try to shoot the drones down.  When a shot is coming your way, something like the Matrix’s bullet-time happens and you can then dodge the lasers.  Oh yeah, the Vive setup includes two camera sensors that you use to define your play area, so you can walk around for real immersion.  It’s pretty damn awesome.  I’m not quite tempted yet to buy one for our house, as I would want the Vive and we definitely don’t have a dedicated space for something like that.  But we certainly are ready to go visit Brian again and play!

weddingpartyAnd OH YEAH, the photographer got back to us with our wedding pictures, and they’re fucking amazing.  At the moment, I don’t have electronic versions to share, but our copies are on their way.  In the meantime, we have access only via a locked-down website, but I was able to get this version by screenshotting the display.  It’s only a hint of the amazingness though.  Seriously, our photographers managed to capture our wedding wonderfully.   Once I’ve got our digital copies, I’ll be sure to share.  So good.

WtPwyTuOqAzj.878x0.Z-Z96KYqAs for video games I’m currently addicted to, that would definitely be XCOM 2, the sequel to XCOM: Enemy Unknown / Enemy Within.   I recently got sucked back into those first games and focused on beating the game as the last time I got to the final level, got hopelessly obliterated.  Well, this last time I won, and it was glorious.  It’s funny though, that most players never do beat the first XCOM game, so in XCOM 2, the story assumes you did lose and the Earth got taken over by aliens.  Now it’s up to you to overthrow the alien government.  The graphics are improved, the game is just as challenging if not more so, and the customization of your crew is pretty damn fun.  Yeah, I have a Steve Rogers character who doesn’t wear a shirt.  So what?

Sunday run - 22 May 2016 - 7 miles

And yesterday, Larry & I went for a run, and I got over 7 miles.  Hells yeah.  Sure, there were some brief periods of having to walk, but they were short and I always got back to running.  It’s awesome to be able to run this much again!

Alright, that’s the weekend, I guess.  Now it’s a week of work that I’m feeling might have lots of things to think about.  Will soon see, I guess?

Saturday State Amidst the Horseshit

Hello everybody!  With Larry & I both having gotten a run in this afternoon, it feels like it is actually Sunday, as that’s when we normally do that.  But we’ve got some plans tomorrow so today was it!  I ended up trying a variant on the route I’ve been going, using the Griffith Park horse trails to run along.  I enjoyed it as it was a little bit more hospitable than the bike path along the eastern side of the 5 Freeway, but I got to about 3 miles in my run and was like, hmm…what to do now?  I didn’t really want to retrace my path I’d just taken so instead, I decided to go through the equestrian tunnel under the 5.

Will never go through this tunnel ever
Will never go through this tunnel ever28-Dec-2014 14:23, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 10.591mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 400
 

If you notice the caption of that photo, I mentioned EVER.  Well, I’m a dirty liar.  That was from a simpler time, back in December 2014, when Larry & I were strolling along.  But now it was a practicality – I wanted to get back to where I started and not have to go all the way around.  So this tunnel was the solution.  Funny enough, as I approach this point, I start seeing people on horses.  As I get closer, there are a LOT of people on horses.  And they’re all cowboy’d up with hats and flannel.  I slow down a bit thinking maybe they’re heading into the tunnel and I’ve missed my shot.  But then they all bunch up and hold short before the entrance, and I’m like, THIS IS IT.  I gotta go or I’m going to definitely be running through mounds of fresh horseshit.  So I high-tail it into the tunnel, quickly making sure I’m actually not prohibited from doing so – turns out, only bicycles aren’t allowed.  I head in and it is DARK in there.  The ambient light available does indicate that plenty of old horseshit is in the middle of the tunnel, so I wisely stay aligned against the left wall.  As I’m running, I start hearing over the music from my headphones the LOUD echoing of horse footfalls.  And it sounds like they’re moving fast!  So I put on turbo speed to make sure I’m not gonna get trampled, all the while hoping I don’t plop right into a pile of horseshit.  Happily, all horseshit was avoided and I was not trampled.

FitBit_23Jan2016

The tunnel is there at that southernmost point of the route – it’s a good run and I like that it’s a loop.  The previous runs on the bike trail are great, but can get boring.  Griffith Park is always a fun run.

saucony2016After we got back I ended up buying some new Saucony shoes – I realized I think I’ve had these current pair for much longer than I’m supposed to.  It’s been apparent to my feet for a little while now, especially now that I’m really trying to stay consistent with exercise and that I’m out in the world and not on my treadmill.

In Other News….

So how about that northeastern blizzard?  Very very glad to have made my visit there last week and not this one – I probably would have still been out of there in time, but eh, better safe than sorry.  Some of my FB friends have been posting snowfall pictures and I was telling Larry that I was having a bit of jealousy….then he slapped the sense back into me as while it can be pretty, if you actually have to go out in it to get somewhere, MEH.  I think most people are happy with it as it’s a Saturday and no one really needs to go anywhere.  So you can just go out, take some pics, then go back into the warmth and continue drinking.  Happily Larry’s family are all doing fine back there and the forecast is that it’ll be 40 degrees early next week so the snow won’t really get a chance to stick around.

Barbara was my next-door neighbor when I lived in the UWS of NYC and this is taken right outside where I used to live, looking west down West 72nd St.  Again, I momentarily missed this, but then I remembered that time when we got hit with a blizzard right before we were moving to California.  It was this kind of snow and we wanted to get a Duane Reade that was a few blocks further west than the view above.  PAIN. IN. THE. ASS.  So yeah, it’s neat, but I’m pretty thrilled with cloudy and 65.

Video Games!

There’s a few I’ve been playing and some I recently finished too – this is purely for my own fun so feel free to leave at this point.

Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate (Finished)

ACS-media-SS-4-big_202195_202309What an amazing return to form for this series!  Unity was a pretty big disappointment, even if it was fun to run around Paris.  I did enjoy the sailing-ship entries such as Black Flag and Rogue, but those kind of are their own beasts.  AC 3, the one set in colonial America, had tons of potential too, but man that was a drag.  So yeah, someone figured out what needed to be done as Syndicate is just so much fun to play.  It’s set in Industrial/Victorian London, and you play as the Frye twins, Jacob & Evie.  They come in to rescue London from the grip of Templars who have command of the city; you can play as either twin throughout the game, which adds some interesting variety.  There are fun side activities and exploring the city of London is very gratifying.  You run into Darwin, Dickens, and Marx in your travels, and in the DLC, you can interact with and track down Jack the Ripper.  The game’s mechanics are just lots of fun, the story is compelling and well-written, Jacob & Evie are fun to tag along with, and it’s just a fun game.  Highly recommended!  (I’m honestly nervous about the news though that the next installment will take place in Ancient Egypt….)

King’s Quest, Chapter 2 (Abandoning…)

Kings_Quest_Chapter2_BannerI really did want to like this next chapter as I loved playing Chapter 1.  But the developers decided to add a mechanic of having to play everything exactly perfect if you want to save everyone trapped in the dungeon with you….and of course explain things ridiculously poorly.  Once you figure things out, it’s too late and even more hilariously, you really can’t restart the chapter.  It’s not clear if the next chapter will have actual repercussions, but I just don’t know how much I care.  Disappointing.

Undertale (Currently Playing…, Kinda)

Undertale-logoThis is a very independent game made by one guy that is getting a ton of raves.  It’s understandable why, as while the graphics are intentionally primitive, there is an interesting and quite funny story to be experience as you embark on your quest.  Also, you don’t have to kill anything and apparently, you really shouldn’t if you want the best ending.  That is frustrating to hear, as I did kill one of the “bosses” as it didn’t look like you could do anything but kill.  So now I’m thinking I need to replay the game, but I’m not motivated enough to do that just yet.  Instead, I kind of faded away from the game and figure once I’m done with some of the other games I’m playing, I’ll go back to it and replay it.  With no killing.

Fallout 4 (Now Playing)

fallout4_wallpaperI was pretty stoked for this game ahead of its release – both when seeing it at E3 last year and when the trailer came out.  BRING IT ON!  Then I started playing it when it released and I liked it, but didn’t immediately love it.  Then I remembered that I got Assassin’s Creed Syndicate “for free” when I bought my new graphics card, and I couldn’t help but start playing it.  Then I couldn’t stop and so I played till I finished it.  It was time to go back to Fallout and post-apocalyptic Boston though, and so I fired Fallout 4 up again and started fresh, and I’m in it this time. I still haven’t actually entered “Diamond City”, the new name for Boston.  But I’ve been enjoying the outskirts so far and figuring out the new systems, like settlements and crafting.  I did find Walden Pond this morning and it’s hilarious to see it’s now a nearly empty nuked out shell of what I assume it once was/is.  It’s a wonderful game world and I’m kind of wondering how the main story will turn out, but I’ve been delaying that for a little while.  I should probably head into Boston and get shit started.

Diablo III (Now Playing)

VHGE1UOVGE431402697675171Yes, yes, I’ve been here before.  Diablo 3 has been out for a few years now, but it manages to keep coming back into my life.  First, I finally started playing it once the godawful Auction House idea was taken out.  It was awesome.  Then the expansion pack came out, and I waited awhile before getting it, but it was also a lot of fun.  Now there’s concepts of Seasons and Adventure Mode, both introduced in the expansion pack, but I didn’t actually explore them that much as I was happy with finishing the main story.  But I got sucked into it again and am playing a new Crusader character in Season 5 (don’t ask me what the different seasons mean…I don’t know) and it’s just a blast.  I’m hooked.

2 Caps, a Towering Inferno, and a Griffith Park Run

Today is the last day of my Christmas vacation.  WTF?  How did this happen so damn fast?  I guess it really wasn’t all that fast, but it did feel like it as not much really of note happened last week while off from work.  But that was nice at the same time.  I got our tree down and stored away, a much-needed haircut, my ride around on the Gold Line…then we had New Year’s and it was nice and uneventful, in a good way, but then all of a sudden it was this weekend and damn, here we are.  Yesterday was actually a great and productive day, especially with regards to the wedding.  Not only was cake ordered, but we also made a decision on the officiant.  That’s a huge relief and I think it’ll be a good choice for the ceremony we want to have.  It’ll be somewhat Jewish in nature, but not really super religious in nature.  It’s also the rabbi who performed Fran and Joel’s wedding, and that was a fantastic ceremony.  And I also played plenty of video games, finishing up Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate and its Jack the Ripper DLC, while also starting Hacknet (finishing that) and Undertale (in progress still).

Anyway, that brings us to today!

First, Larry was going off to run the bike trail by the LA River and Griffith Park, so I joined him – thanks FitBit Guilt.

GriffithRun_3Jan2016It’s a nice and flat run, which is much appreciated.  You run along both the LA River and the 5 Freeway, which is kind of interesting.  I made it down to the Los Feliz bridge, where I turned around and ran back.  I can see that my heart rate is getting pretty high in these runs which motivates me more to get in better condition.  But I’m happy to be able to have the endurance in me still to do a 4.5 mile run.

After that run, I pretty much stopped being productive.  It was an afternoon of movies.  I ended up satiating my celebrity crush fixation on Chris Evans (aka Captain America) by watching both of the Captain America movies.

amazing-captain-amercia-hd-wallpaper-widescreen-high-resolution-images-desktop-background Captain-America-The-Winter-Soldier-HD-WallpaperThese are by far my most favorite of the Marvel Avengers movies.  By far….

rs_1024x759-140416121920-1024-captain-america..ls.41614…for reasons, obviously.  Also, because they are just far more interesting characters and movies.  Totally unbiased opinion though.

Then after that, Larry asked about watching The Towering Inferno – as we had actually watched The Poseidon Adventure on Friday.  Talk about some retro disaster movie fun!  We fit in San Andreas yesterday too (I still enjoy that movie but some of the motivations for the characters there really are bothersome – but the special effects are insane!).  So watching The Towering Inferno sucks up a whole 3 hours.  Poseidon Adventure is certainly the better movie.  Much better characters helps make it a more enjoyable movie.  I still don’t get what Irwin Allen had against some of the characters – he kills off extremely likable people in both, while letting characters like Nonnie the catatonic lounge singer skate by while being a hindrance to others.  But anyway.

Off to work tomorrow.  No break in sight for a quite a few months – honestly, probably not until the wedding time.  Ugh. I will be off to NYC and Philly this week too.  Exciting times!